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The 60 Biggest Events and Festivals Coming to Philadelphia in 2018

A month-by-month guide to the biggest, can’t-miss events coming to Philly this year

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Night Market Philadelphia Photo courtesy The Food Trust

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The year 2018 is a big one for Philadelphia!

A ton of blockbuster events will fill every month of the calendar, and more than a handful of grand openings usher in some major attraction debuts this year.

Red ribbons will be cut on the Rail Park, the Bourse Philadelphia, Cherry Street Pier, the Comcast Technology Center and the Fashion District Philadelphia, and the fully restored LOVE Park — complete with a restored LOVE sculpture — will also come to life.

Other notable happenings include mega outdoor festivals, art shows, film screenings, sporting games and food-centric events, bringing lots to look forward to for everyone.

The events below are some of the biggest happenings coming to the city in 2018 – drawing tens of thousands of people. But these mark just a sampling of the hundreds of events that take place in Philadelphia every season. For more comprehensive lists of events and festivals coming to Philly this year, check out our Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter guides.

January

Sit down to a fantastic meal without breaking the bank during the always popular Center City District Restaurant Week. Diners can enjoy a three-course lunch for $20 (at select restaurants) or a three-course dinner for $35 at some of the best restaurants in the city, including Abe Fisher, Barbuzzo, Harp & Crown, Scarpetta and many more.

Explore the automotive industry’s newest creations at the Pennsylvania Convention Center during the 2018 Philadelphia Auto Show. More than 700 concept, classic, luxury and exotic cars will be on display over a 700,000-square-foot area. The best part? A select number of cars will be available to test drive.

February

Throughout February, major attractions across the city offer special programming to celebrate Black History Month. Stay tuned for a complete guide to events like live dance performances, arts workshops, film screenings and more.

This February, the Chinese New Year arrives with events that celebrate deities, ancestors and the year ahead, which is the Year of the Dog. The holiday officially falls on Friday, February 16, but Philadelphia is sure to commemorate the occasion in the weeks leading up to the official date. Find celebrations at places like the Independence Seaport Museum and the Penn Museum and in the heart of Chinatown with spirited parades and events from the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation.

As Center City’s iconic railway terminal turned epicurean haven, Reading Terminal Market boasts a century and a quarter of feeding foodies. The venue is gearing up for a grand period gala — Victorian costumes, penny-farthings and all — for the date it opened in 1893 (February 22) and a public party the following Saturday, February 24. Other plans for the yearlong celebration include a multicultural Diamond Day in June and indoor-outdoor festival the Taste of the Market on a to-be-announced date in September.

March

The 2018 PHS Philadelphia Flower Show, Wonders of Water, will celebrate the beauty and life-sustaining interplay of horticulture and water. The world’s largest indoor flower show draws top floral and garden designers from across the country, who will create tropical jungles, temperate forests, native woodlands and arid landscapes filled with beautiful plants of all sorts to represent each environment.

The annual qFLIX Philadelphia festival celebrates all genres of film that pertain to or were created by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Films will screen across a seven-day span at a selection of city venues.

The ever-expanding Philly Wine Week now features hundreds of events in 50-plus restaurants and bars across the city. From tastings to dinner parties to educational sessions, vino-filled opportunities of all sorts await.

The free, outdoor Winter Fountains exhibition illuminates the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this winter with a stunning nighttime display of surreal, glowing videos projected onto four large domes. The dazzling works — inspired by the Parkway’s grand fountains — are a centerpiece exhibition of Parkway 100, the city’s 14-month celebration commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the avenue’s groundbreaking.

April

This year marks the 20th anniversary of this springtime tradition, which re-opens Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park for the season amid a week of citywide cultural celebrations, film screenings, kimono dressing, a 10k race and demonstrations of nihon buyo traditional dance and martial arts.

With hands-on events for kids, sophisticated activities for adults and a carnival, the citywide Philadelphia Science Festival demonstrates the role science plays in everyday life during a more-than-week-long celebration.

Always coinciding with the Penn Relays, Philadelphia Black Pride is a pioneering multi-day gathering of people of different races, ethnicities and sexual orientations. With a diverse array of events, the celebration is known to bring together thousands of members of the African-American and LGBT communities.

High school, college and professional track stars compete at Franklin Field during the Penn Relays Carnival, the oldest and largest collegiate meet in the nation. With an average of one race every five minutes, it’s the most action-packed, too.

This popular warm-weather event brings barbecue and beer to iconic outdoor spaces, starting at the Azalea Garden (April 25-29) and visiting a different Philadelphia park each Wednesday through Sunday through the end of September.

Throughout Philly Tech Week, more than 25,000 business leaders, tech geeks and even the technically challenged participate in more than 100 events, including a variety of programs, interactive activities and workshops that celebrate and highlight emerging trends, advances and innovating uses of technology.

South Philadelphia’s vibrant pre-Cinco de Mayo procession El Carnaval de Puebla showcases folk traditions from the Mexican state (which is the home of many Philadelphians) through a colorful parade and street fair featuring dancers in ornate costumes and oversized masks representing historical figures and folk dramas.

May

The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival returns for its third year of illuminating Franklin Square with grand, artistic creations. For two months, the square at 6th and Race streets will come alive with 15,000 LED lights strewn across 28 different displays featuring 1,500 works of art. The dazzling 200-foot-long Chinese dragon and whimsical panda constructions from previous years are back, but all other original creations are brand new.

Thousands of revelers take part in alfresco family fun at the South Street Spring Festival. At Headhouse Square and along South Street, the annual event includes a giant Maypole, a few dozen concerts, eating contests, a kids’ zone and 100-plus vendors. It also includes Maifest, Brauhaus Schmitz’s German beer and dancing extravaganza.

Gaining popularity every year, the Broad Street Run takes participants along a flat 10-mile stretch of one of the city’s main arteries. Spectators line the sidewalks of Broad Street to cheer on the wave of runners from North Philadelphia, around City Hall and to the finish line in South Philadelphia.

One of the best warm-weather spots in Philadelphia, Spruce Street Harbor Park will celebrate its fifth season in 2018. The beloved temporary park invites visitors to lounge on colorful hammocks, enjoy delicious food from its floating restaurant, cool off with drafts from the beer garden and hang out and play games – ping pong, shuffleboard and more – along its waterfront boardwalk.

The Delaware River Waterfront becomes a seasonal wonderland each summer during Blue Cross RiverRink Summerfest. Guests can enjoy boardwalk-style games and rides, try their luck in the arcade, take in waterfront views with drinks and food and take a spin around the city’s first outdoor roller rink.

Food trucks galore fill Philadelphia’s charming neighborhoods during the city’s popular street food festival Night Market Philadelphia presented by The Food Trust. The roving festival of street eats, live music and neighborhood pride attracts tens of thousands of hungry visitors each season. This year, Night Market heads to the Burholme, Kensington and Point Breeze neighborhoods, as well as to the Gayborhood in Midtown Village.

People fill the streets of Kensington and Fishtown for the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby and Arts Festival, enjoying not only racing sculpture and art, but also live music and great food. The derby portion of the day celebrates human-powered transit as fanciful mobile sculptures parade along a three-mile urban obstacle course.

The Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival transforms the Rittenhouse neighborhood into a come-one, come-all street fest. Residents and visitors enjoy a day of music, outdoor shopping, fashion events, international entertainment and food from some of the city’s most renowned restaurants.

Everyone’s Italian at The South 9th Street Italian Market Festival, featuring live entertainment and activities, a bounty of international foods (including homemade sausages, imported meats and cheeses, fresh pastas and cannolis) and specialty cookware. Two must-see events: the Procession of Saints and the greased pole-climbing contest.

Philadelphia celebrates Memorial Day weekend with a four-day festival featuring 11 Tall Ships docked along the historic Delaware River Waterfront. This official Tall Ships America event includes public tours, day sails and loads of riverside fun.

When the weather warms up, the city will fete the square’s new look, complete with modern fountains and lighting, a refurbished midcentury modern Welcome Center and newly planted lawns and gardens to go alongside the newly restored LOVE sculpture.

June

One weekend in June features films by established and emerging Latino and Latin American filmmakers at the Latino Film Festival. The lineup includes feature films, shorts, youth films, animations and documentaries, in English or Spanish with subtitles, along with workshops and discussions.

The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts returns to Broad Street this June. Collaborative, innovative performances are the hallmark of the 11-day, art-filled festival and street fair along Broad Street, also known as the Avenue of the Arts. Highlights include noted theater performer Taylor Mac’s epic performance art concert A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (which will be presented in two 12-hour parts) and the return of French performance troupe Transe Express for the world premiere of Cristal Palace, a 30-foot chandelier made of 50 air acrobats and dancers.

Philly Beer Week, the 11th annual celebration of Philadelphia’s vibrant beer culture, takes over the city and region for 10 days. Events range from tastings to lectures to beer-pairing dinners where sudsy cheersing is encouraged.

The PECO Multicultural Series on the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing celebrates the diverse cultures that make Philadelphia a distinct city. The free festival series includes the Philadelphia Irish Festival (June 3), the Islamic Heritage Festival (June 16), Hispanic Fiesta (July 7-8), and Brazilian Day Philadelphia (September 9), among others.

The 43rd annual Odunde Festival holds the designation of the largest African-American street festival on the East Coast. After a week of events leading up to the festival, the day begins with a spiritual procession to the Schuylkill River to ring in the Yoruba New Year, followed by music, dance and vendors along South Street.

The annual PrideDay LGBT Parade and Festival takes place during International Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and features live music, DJs, food, drinks and a festive parade that runs from the Gayborhood to Penn’s Landing.

The greening of Philadelphia continues as the first phase of the Rail Park — Philly’s hotly anticipated elevated park and recreational pathway — opens this summer. A quarter-mile stretch of new urban greenspace, stretching from Broad and Noble streets and up to the Reading Viaduct overhead before ending above the 1100 block of Callowhill Street, will feature lush plants and trees, public art by local artists, plenty of seating and space for gathering, bench-style swings and first-rate elevated city views.

Hundreds of artists from around the nation set up shop for the two-day Manayunk Arts Festival, the region’s largest outdoor juried arts festival. From jewelry to ceramics to woodworks and sculptures, pieces stemming from all mediums are available to peruse and purchase.

Wawa Welcome America! celebrates the nation’s birthday for the 26th year in a row with a multi-day party of free events for all ages throughout the city, including outdoor concerts, museum days, a patriotic parade, block parties and fantastic fireworks.

The city’s most spectacular new skyscraper rises 60 stories above the streets of Center City, creating a new home for media and technology giant Comcast’s growing workforce, NBC 10/Telemundo 62, tech upstarts and, high atop it all, the landmark Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, scheduled to open in September. (Comcast Center, the company’s global headquarters, remains nearby.) Lord Norman Foster designed this $1.5 billion, 1,121-foot building, the tallest between New York and Chicago. The Four Seasons will occupy floors 48 to 60, offering a sleek, minimalist design, 360-degree views throughout and exceptional luxury. Chefs Greg Vernick and Jean-Georges Vongerichten will have restaurants at the bottom and top, respectively.

The Historic District’s circa-1895 commodities exchange transforms into an artisan market in the style of Chelsea Market. The burnished, Victorian-era member of the National Register of Historic Places across the street from Independence Mall was most recently a food court. The Bourse’s new incarnation promises an experience befitting Philadelphia’s current and centuries-old reputation as a city of makers.

July

Nationally acclaimed journalists, writers, singers and performance artists head to Philadelphia each year for the Celebration of Black Arts. The event, which includes a gallery exhibition, literary and arts conference and awards ceremony, is one of the oldest African-American literary events in the nation.

Eastern State Penitentiary’s Bastille Day consists of re-enactors and audience members playfully recreating the storming of the Bastille. Emceed by “Edith Piaf,” Philly’s version of this historic event includes experimental cabaret performances, dancing baguettes and Marie Antoinette tossing 3,000 or so Tastykakes to the crowd.

WXPN, the public radio station of the University of Pennsylvania, brings together musical legends and new performers — this year’s lineup includes The War On Drugs, Preservation Hall Band and Sturgill Simpson — along the Camden Waterfront for the XPoNential Music Festival.

September

Coming into its sixth year, the Budweiser Made In America Festival is a massive musical soiree that takes over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The festival, complete with dozens of top performers and multiple stages, is one of the year’s can’t-miss events. Stay tuned for more details as they’re announced.

Historic Aronimink Golf Club hosts the penultimate event of the PGA Tour’s FedExCup, with the Tour’s top 70 players vying for the 30 qualifying spots in the season-ending Tour Championship. Founded in 1896, the Delaware County course has recently been restored to its original, 1928 Donald Ross American parkland design, right down to its signature, amoeba-like tee boxes. Past winners of the BMW Championship include Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and, in 2017, Marc Leishman.

OutFest, part of the National Coming Out Day Festival, is the largest event of its kind in the world. The 10-block Gayborhood party packs in the fun with drag shows, games, bar crawls, music, shopping and a main stage featuring live entertainment — including a high-heeled race.

Artists, makers, designers, entertainers, restaurateurs and historians all come out to celebrate the neighborhood’s creative spirit during the Old City Festival. Throughout several blocks along North 3rd Street and Arch Street, activities, exhibitions and programs appeal to families as well as the over-21 crowd.

Exactly one century to the day of the debut of Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the culture-packed, museum-lined, park-pocketed boulevard fetes its centennial in grand, to-be-announced style (which will certainly include cake). Leading up to that finale, major public art projects and exhibits spanning City Hall, the Parkway Central Library, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the Rodin Museum and the Barnes Foundation explore and honor the corridor’s history and future.

Rowers and landlubbers look forward to the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, one of the nation’s largest and most festive rowing events featuring athletes of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to Olympic-level racers.

The entire city celebrates DesignPhiladelphia, the nation’s oldest festival of its kind, with over 85 events that highlight local to global designers. The Center for Architecture and Design hosts exhibitions, lectures, workshops and demonstrations focused on architecture, interior design, industrial design, multimedia and urban design at venues all around town.

The wizards of Hogwarts take over during the Harry Potter Festival, where historic Chestnut Hill transforms into a mini-Hogsmeade with a costume parade, Horcrux Hunt, Dumbledore’s Powers Maze, Potter Pub Crawl and more. It all culminates with Quidditch teams competing for the Golden Snitch.

The 27th Philadelphia Film Festival showcases the best in independent and foreign cinema in theaters and venues around Philadelphia. Attendees take in short films, feature-length films, animated movies and special guest appearances.

Center City East’s former “Gallery mall” gets new life as a shining retail, entertainment and dining complex stretching over three city blocks. Adding to current anchors Century21 and Burlington will be a 38,000-square-foot H&M — the region’s largest — and a “dine-and-recline” movie theater.

November

With a fast course that winds through the city’s historic downtown, past the stunning Philadelphia Museum of Art and along scenic Boathouse Row, the Philadelphia Marathon is one of the country’s premier — and most scenic — running events. The weekend also includes the Rothman Institute 8K race, a half-marathon, a Kids Fun Run and the two-day Health and Fitness Expo.

The nation’s first Thanksgiving Day Parade keeps the tradition going every year. The parade, produced by 6ABC and sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts, wows the crowds with fancy floats, giant balloons, talented marching bands and other festive entertainment along the JFK Boulevard and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

December

Are you ready for another match up between two of the most fierce rivals in all of sports? The Army-Navy Game returns to Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. Cadets, midshipmen, current service members, veterans and fans gather to cheer on the United States Military Academy as they take on the United States Naval Academy on the football field.

The City of Brotherly Love wholeheartedly embraces the most wonderful time of the year, hosting a festive array of iconic holiday attractions. Whether you’re looking to skate at the Rothman Ice Rink at Dilworth Park, shop the popular German-style Christmas Village or take in the Christmas Light Show at Macy’s, the region is sure to get you into the holiday spirit. Don’t miss some of the most popular wintertime highlights that the city has to offer, including the Comcast Center’s festive film experience Comcast Holiday Spectacular and the Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest, featuring ice skating, food and drink, shopping and family fun on the waterfront. And as the year comes to a close, the Sugarhouse Casino Fireworks brings two grand displays over the Delaware River waterfront to ring in 2019!

December

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